WrestleMania Takes Over New Orleans

STAMFORD, Conn., April 1, 2014 – Fans from all 50 states and more than 30 countries will descend upon New Orleans for a week-long lineup of festivities in celebration of WrestleMania30, taking place this Sunday, April 6live on WWE Network and pay-per-view at 7 pm ET from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, LA. WWE® will also host more than a dozen pro-social events designed to give back to the host community. WrestleManiaWeek begins today, Tuesday, April 1 and includes the following events:

· WrestleMania 30 Press Conference – Today, Hard Rock Café, NYCBefore WWE takes over New Orleans and Randy Orton® defends the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in a Triple Threat match against Batista® and the winner of Daniel Bryan® vs. Triple H®, all four WrestleMania headliners will come face-to-face today at 11 am ET at the Hard Rock Café in New York City, where WrestleMania first began 30 years ago. They will be joined by WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon, WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon, WrestleMania30 host Hulk Hogan™ and WWE Superstar John Cena® to offer a preview of this year’s historic event. The press conference will be streamed live on WWE Network.

· Children’s Hospital Visits – Wednesday, April 2, New Orleans

WWE Superstars Kofi Kingston®, Cody Rhodes® and Zack Ryder® and WWE Diva Natalya™ will visit the Ochsner Children’s Health Center and the Children’s Hospital of New Orleans tomorrow. Mattel will donate WWE action figures for the WWE Superstars and Divas to distribute throughout their visits.

As part of WWE’s longstanding commitment to the military, WWE has partnered with Hire Heroes USA (#ServiceatWork) to support their mission of creating job opportunities for veterans and their spouses through personalized employment transition training and corporate engagement. Tomorrow, WWE Superstar Mark Henry®, WWE Diva Eva Marie™ and WWE announcer Lilian Garcia® will participate in a meet and greet and autograph signing for military members, veterans and their families.

· Special Olympics Unified Basketball Game – Wednesday, April 2, Tulane University

WWE, a Founding Partner of the 2014 Special Olympics USA Games, and Special Olympics Louisiana will host a unified basketball game (#UNIFIEDSPORTS) tomorrow at Tulane University. Athletes from Team Louisiana will participate in a basketball game where WWE Superstar Titus O’Neil™, WWE Divas The Bella Twins™ and WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon will serve as honorary coaches.

Superstars for Kids – Thursday, April 3, New Orleans Museum of Art

WWE Superstars and Divas including John Cena, Daniel Bryan, The Miz®, Big Show® and The Bella Twins will join New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees and the star of A Haunted Mansion 2, Marlon Wayans at this year’s Superstars for Kids (#STARS4KIDS) red carpet party at the New Orleans Museum of Art. Last week, WWE kicked off a global online auction to benefit Drew Brees’s non-profit organization, The Brees Dream Foundation and Boys & Girls Clubs at www.Charitybuzz.com/WWE. The auction features unique, once-in-a-lifetime experiences with WWE Superstars, professional athletes and Hollywood celebrities. During the Superstars for Kids red carpet party, Wayans will lead an additional live auction where even more incredible experiences will be made available for bidding.

Be a STAR (Show Tolerance And Respect) was co-founded by The Creative Coalition and WWE in April 2011. WWE and The Creative Coalition will hold two anti-bullying rallies (#BeaSTAR) in New Orleans during WrestleMania Week. On Thursday, April 3, WWE Superstars Mark Henry and David Otunga®, WWE Diva Natalya and WWE host Josh Mathews™ will deliver anti-bullying messages to 300 students at Sarah T. Reed High School. On Friday, April 4, WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon and The Creative Coalition CEO Robin Bronk will join WWE Superstars Alberto Del Rio® and Damien Sandow®, WWE Divas Naomi™ and Cameron™ and WWE host Renee Young™ at the Boys and Girls Club Westbank Unit where they will talk to more than 450 students about showing respect to one another.

In an effort to promote literacy among children of all ages, WWE partners with the Pearson Foundation’s We Give Books program and the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) to deliver an innovative digital reading experience to children, parents and teachers atwww.WWEReadingSuperstar.com. On Thursday, April 3, more than 100 students and faculty at Langston Hughes Academy will participate in a Reading Celebration (#WWEReadingSuperstar) featuring WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon, WWE Superstar Cody Rhodes and WWE Divas Champion AJ Lee™.

WrestleMania Axxess (#AXXESS) is the ultimate fan experience for the WWE Universe. This year’s WrestleMania Axxess will take place onThursday, April 3 through Sunday, April 6 at the New Orleans Convention Center. Fans will get unprecedented access to meet their favorite WWE Superstars, Divas and Legends through a host of interactive fan experiences, including more autograph signings and live matches than ever before.

WWE, KaBOOM! and more than 200 volunteers will team up to build a new playground (#PlayMatters) at Woodland West Elementary School. WWE and KaBOOM! launched its first-ever partnership to promote the importance of play in children’s lives. Earlier this year, WWE and KaBOOM! hosted a Design Day at Woodland West Elementary School where children brainstormed and designed their dream playground. The children will have the final design come to life on Friday, April 4, when WWE Superstars, executives, employees and community volunteers help build the playground of their dreams and leave a lasting impact on children in the New Orleans area.

· Make-A-Wish® Pizza Party – Saturday, April 5, Audubon Aquarium

WWE Superstar John Cena will host the annual Make-A-Wish (#MakeAWish) pizza party at Audobon Aquarium in New Orleans, where he will induct 31 wish children into WWE’s Circle of Champions. As part of its 30-year alliance with Make-A-Wish, WWE will also host the 31 wish kids and their families at WrestleMania 30. With more than 400 wishes and counting, Cena has granted more wishes than any celebrity.

· Susan G. Komen Luncheon – Saturday, April 5, Windsor Court Hotel

WWE Superstars, Divas and WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon will be on hand to support Komen New Orleans’ (#KomenNewOrleans) biggest mission day of the year, where they award more than $600,000 to local community grantees. The grants will be distributed to local community organizations committed to helping uninsured and underinsured women of New Orleans receiveaccess to critical breast cancer education, screening and treatment services. McMahon has been named the Honorary Chairperson for Komen New Orleans.

A capacity crowd will fill the Smoothie King Center for the 2014 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony (#WWEHOF). On the eve of WrestleMania 30, a new class of inductees will join WWE Legends from the past as they are enshrined into the WWE Hall of Fame. This year’s inductees includeThe Ultimate Warrior™, Jake “The Snake” Roberts™, Lita™, Razor Ramon, Paul Bearer, Carlos Colon and Mr. T.

· WrestleMania 30 – Sunday, April 6, Mercedes-Benz Superdome

More than 70,000 fans are expected to converge on the Mercedes-Benz Superdome for WWE’s annual pop-culture extravaganza, WrestleMania30 (#WRESTLEMANIA) hosted by Hulk Hogan. Current WWE Superstars will be joined by WWE Legends for a celebration 30 years in the making. Featured matches include the first-ever Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, The Undertaker® defending his epic WrestleManiawinning streak against Brock Lesnar, John Cena battling Bray Wyatt, and Randy Orton defending the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Batista and the winner of a showdown between Daniel Bryan and Triple H.

The night after WrestleMania, Monday Night Raw comes to the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA. Fans can see their favorite WWE Superstars and Divas as the road to WrestleMania 31 begins. WrestleMania 31 will take place at the brand new Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA on Sunday, March 29, 2015.

About Brian Fritz

Brian is the owner and editor-in-chief of Between The Ropes. He has also covered wrestling and MMA for The Orlando Sentinel and AOL Fanhouse and currently is a contributor for Sporting News. You can email Brian at fritz@betweentheropes.com and follow him on Twitter @BrianFritz.